The earliest palace, the earliest bronze weapons... Erlitou gave birth to 10 "China's best"

In 1959, the famous archaeologist Xu Xusheng led a team to the Luoyang Basin with the dream of finding the Xia Dynasty. Here, the world-famous Erlitou site in Yanshi, Henan was discovered. The door to the earliest dynasty in Chinese history was thus opened.

The "superpower" in the Central Plains

From the Lijiagou culture 10,000 years ago to the Jiahu culture 8,000 years ago, and then through the Cishan culture, Peiligang culture, Hougang I culture, Dahecun culture, Zhongyuan Longshan culture to the Erlitou culture, the development sequence of Central Plains culture is not only complete but also continuous. Its architecture, tomb structures and pottery combinations are inherited from previous civilizations.

In addition to inheriting the main culture of the Central Plains, the Erlitou culture also widely integrated advanced elements of surrounding civilizations, such as pottery types, copper smelting technology, sheep, and wheat in the northwest, jade artifacts of the post-Shijiahe culture in the south, seashells from tropical oceans, jade ritual vessels and pottery ritual vessels in the east, and primitive porcelain in the southeast.

Because the Erlitou ancestors were inclusive and tolerant, they were able to stand out in the fierce and diverse competition, create unprecedented systems and civilizational achievements, and establish a "superpower" in the Central Plains that transcended geographical units.

This "superpower" is centered in Henan, extending to Zhoukou in the east, Jiaozuo in the north, Guanzhong Plain in the west, and northern Hubei in the south. According to statistics from Dr. He Jun of Henan University, there are more than 800 settlements in its territory, which can be divided into four levels according to the scale of settlements and the specifications of relics, and the social structure presents a "pyramid shape". Large and medium-sized settlements occupy core resources such as rivers, major transportation routes, turquoise mines, and copper mines, and the surrounding small settlements are in a protective posture, forming a "many stars supporting the moon" type of distribution pattern.

It is worth mentioning that in September this year, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage released the latest archaeological findings of the Baliqiao site in Fangcheng, Henan. This site in Fangcheng, Henan, fills the gap in the study of secondary central settlements of the Xia Dynasty. It is an important hub for the transportation of resources for the Erlitou royal capital and an important core settlement in the south of the Xia Dynasty.

Erlitou has discovered 10 "China's best"

From 1959 to the present, three generations of archaeologists have explored day and night and discovered Erlitou’s 10 “China’s best”.

The 10 "China's best" are: the earliest urban main road network, the earliest two-wheeled ruts, the earliest palace city, the earliest palace complex with a central axis layout, the earliest multi-courtyard palace complex, the earliest national sacrificial site and sacrificial area, the earliest bronze casting workshop, the earliest turquoise processing workshop, the earliest bronze ritual vessel group, and the earliest bronze weapon.

It was the innovation of the Erlitou ancestors that created the largest settlement in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, the earliest large city with clear urban planning, and formed the earliest core culture on the East Asian continent.

"As archaeological work in various places deepens, some discoveries earlier than Erlitou have appeared in other major sites in China, and some records may be broken." Zhao Haitao, leader of the Erlitou archaeological team, said that it is clear that the ritual and music system born in the Erlitou period is the core, characteristic and essence of early Chinese civilization. The core of the ritual and music system is the hierarchy system. Rites "distinguish the noble and the humble, distinguish the ranks", reflecting the privileges of the nobility and the hierarchical status of social members, and music is integrated and unified to ease internal contradictions and conflicts.

Digital technology brings the "Summer Capital" within reach

In order to more vividly display the magnificence of the Xia Dynasty civilization, the Erlitou Xia Capital Ruins Museum has cleverly used digital technology to carefully create a special digital museum, leading visitors on a "journey of exploration of 'the earliest China'".

Entering the prologue hall, a huge three-fold screen comes into view, and the three-dimensional special effects instantly bring visitors back to the Xia Dynasty more than 3,800 years ago. Here, the "Earliest China" exhibition area reveals many "China's best" of the Erlitou site one by one through a high-tech display method. Entering the "Glorious Xia Capital" exhibition area, visitors will find that the ceiling, floor and four screens seem to be integrated into one, and 37 projectors together construct an immersive three-dimensional image space. Here, the glorious history of the Xia Dynasty is vividly reproduced: the magnificent scenes of the war, the mighty momentum of the Xia King's chariot and ceremonial guards, the solemn style of the royal ceremony... It seems to let visitors travel back to that mysterious Xia Dynasty.

In addition, the digital museum also has a multi-dimensional special effects experience theater, which brings visitors an unprecedented "immersion" through the perfect combination of special effects devices such as wind machines, rain machines, lightning machines, and LED matrix digital images on the walls and ceilings. Even in modern times, you can still feel the natural climate and customs of the Xia Dynasty.

With the advancement of the Chinese Civilization Origin Exploration Project and the Archaeology China Major Project, the Erlitou Xia Capital Site Museum has been committed to using new technologies and methods to display heavyweight cultural relics to the public in a new way. Since its opening, the museum has received 5 million visitors. At present, the Erlitou Xia Capital Site Museum has become a national demonstration area for the protection, display and utilization of large sites, a research and display center for the formation and development of early Chinese states, and a research and display base for the Xia, Shang and Zhou Chronology Project and the Chinese Civilization Origin Exploration Project.